It's the clash of the titans this holiday season, with Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 going head-to-head with October and November releases, respectively. The FPS space has clearly not been this exciting in years, and with two of gaming's most bankable franchises ready for a dogfight come Q4, I have to say, things do look better for Battlefield this time around.

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Battlefield 6 is shaping up to be the most polished Battlefield we've seen in over a decade, with its beta already blowing past expectations (myself included). This time, it really feels like EA might finally have the upper hand, and that's partly due to Call of Duty's own missteps.

Battlefield 6 is offering a proper single-player campaign

Black Ops 7 seems to be alienating those who enjoy a solo campaign

I've talked at length about Black Ops 7's campaign woes. Both Call of Duty and Battlefield have always provided great, tightly-written single-player campaigns, despite the fact that the most fun to be had has always been in the multiplayer department. Still, when Black Ops 4 and Battlefield 2042 skipped campaigns entirely, players raised hell for the absence of a single-player experience. Even with 2023's Modern Warfare III, which went through development hell and ultimately gave us a lackluster, half-cooked excuse of a campaign mode, it got its fair share of flak.

This time, it seems that Black Ops 7 is once again about to go down the same road, because for Black Ops 7, Treyarch seems to have forced in a co-op element that will leave solo players sidelined. With no difficulty settings in the campaign and a primary focus on four-player co-op even in the campaign itself, Black Ops 7 is looking to be a campaign designed with multiplayer in mind first, and storytelling second. Sadly, I can't see this compromise working for either camp particularly well.

On the other hand, Battlefield 6 is delivering a straight-up, honest-to-goodness single-player campaign — one built around a fractured NATO and a PMC (all the things I love in a good FPS campaign). Is the multiplayer ultimately where all players will eventually flock to once the credits roll on the campaign? Of course. However, a single-player experience is just as important, and yet, that's something that only DICE and EA seem to be understanding this time around.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
Action
FPS
Sci-Fi
Systems
Top Critic Avg: 65/100 Critics Rec: 36%
Released
November 14, 2025
ESRB
Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs
Developer(s)
Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher(s)
Activision
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5 Images
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Engine
IW Engine
Genre(s)
Action, FPS, Sci-Fi

Battlefield 6 is clearly winning the marketing war

There's a lot of people talking about finally switching sides

Between Call of Duty players deciding to openly declare they're moving to Battlefield 6 after looking at Black Ops 7's Gamescom reveal on Opening Night Live, and some players even wishing to give Medal of Honor a comeback, it's clear that things aren't going all that well for Black Ops 7 on the marketing front, either. Endless players have been piling on in the comments about how uninspired the reveal felt, and truth be told, they're not off the mark here.

Meanwhile, BF6 has been putting on a masterclass in community hype-building with multiple betas, slick trailers, and a laser focus on highlighting what players actually want. The excitement this time around feels rather organic, and consequently, fans are flocking to the game not because it's the only good shooter out this year, but because it genuinely looks like the better option.

That's why it looks like Battlefield has a real shot at dethroning Call of Duty as the go-to holiday shooter in 2026. With all things considered, this is a victory that Battlefield needs, and one that COD might not be able to stop this time around.

Battlefield is listening to its players

DICE's action on community feedback has been swift

If there is one thing that the BF6 betas have shown, it's that EA and DICE are actually listening this time. Sure, the betas have shown the game to be incredibly polished and performing incredibly while being months away from release, but that doesn't mean people haven't had their fair share of complaints. However, community notes haven't been brushed aside, and they've been actively worked upon. The most significant change? Nerfing hyper-mobility and punishing the bunny-hopping COD-style gameplay that really has no place in Battlefield. This decision alone has earned applause from core Battlefield players who have long wanted the series to continue focusing on tactical gameplay rather than gimmicks.

At the same time, Battlefield 6 isn't building an impermeable stone wall to keep the COD crowd away, either. They've clearly made the game more accessible to that crowd, with BF6's multiplayer featuring smaller and tighter maps that encourage urgent battle, rife with echoes of Battlefield 3 and 4. The result? A game that feels true to Battlefield's hardcore military DNA while still making space for newcomers. I can't believe I'm saying this with the amount of confidence I'm saying it with, but from the looks of it, Battlefield 6 is finally striking the perfect balance.

Battlefield 6 clearly has Black Ops 7 on the backfoot

Activision's U-turn on player skins reveals as much

It's a small thing, until it isn't. One of the fastest ways a shooter loses its identity is by going overboard with cosmetics, and Call of Duty has been a prime culprit on that account. Skins like Homelander, Beavis & Butthead, and Nicki Minaj belong in something like Fortnite, where the identity from day one has been that of a multiverse-spanning, goofy shooter in which you can dance and shoot (often at the same time). In a shooter like Call of Duty that began as — and always has been — a grounded and realistic military shooter, things soon begin looking like a carnival, and Black Ops 6, in particular, has received plenty of backlash over the past year for giving in to these trends.

On the other hand, BF6 is standing its ground with gear and skins consistent with the tactical and authentic tone of a military shooter. No nonsense, no glowing laser unicorn rifles, and no trends to chase for more TikTok highlights. For longtime fans, this has been a relief, and for those tired of seeing a soldier decked out like a Fortnite character, it's refreshing. Between this decision and the right call of sticking to a true campaign for solo players, Battlefield is signaling, loud and clear, that it knows what it wants to be. More importantly, it shows that it knows what it doesn't.

With discussion about skins and Call of Duty's very identity coming front and center in online forums and threads, Activision had to take the time out to announce to the community that they're listening and taking stock. As such, Black Ops 6's operator skins are not moving to Black Ops 7, although they will continue to remain in Warzone, which, honestly, is just fine.

This doesn't mean Black Ops 7 won't outsell Battlefield 6

As long as the game works, it will still have a larger audience

That's the plain truth, and nothing but the truth. There's a reason that yearly releases of Call of Duty games haven't stopped in such a long time — that game sells. It's available across all platforms, it's generally agreeable, and the multiplayer shooting is still going to be pretty solid, if Black Ops 6 is anything to go by. Still, that doesn't take away from the fact that Battlefield 6, so far, is in the running when it comes to being a grounded, military shooter.

Even the worst-rated COD games have found a way to make it into their respective year's top-selling charts, which means that on the sales front, there's really one clear winner here. It very well might still be the game parents and aunts buy their kids for Christmas, even if the 'hardcore' community remains vocally with Battlefield for its merits.

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Battlefield 6
FPS
War & Military
Action
Systems
Top Critic Avg: 83/100 Critics Rec: 89%
Released
October 10, 2025
ESRB
Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, In-App Purchases, Users Interact
Developer(s)
Battlefield Studios
Publisher(s)
EA
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7 Images
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Engine
Frostbite
Genre(s)
FPS, War & Military, Action

It's going to be an interesting FPS face-off this holiday season

If Blacks Ops 7 continues to fumble the ball, Battlefield could become the year's best shooter.

This holiday season, the FPS space is genuinely alive again. Call of Duty is definitely the juggernaut, yes, but Battlefield 6 is sharper and more grounded than ever before. The open beta has given us a glimpse of a game that is more polished than most AAA titles at launch, and it's clearly staying true to its identity.

Right now, if Black Ops 7 continues to fumble the ball, we could very well be looking at the year Battlefield finally reclaims the throne of being the year's best shooter.